San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-11-14

suffer, although | believe he was never
seen TO smile again after Sunning's little
coffin was laid in the family vault at
Staines court,
Lady Bracknell did not appear at the
funeral. IL Is believel-Or at all events IL
was stated-that she felt unable to face so
cruel an ordeal; but the truth as after
ward heard on excellent authority, was
that she was afraid to venture within
reach Of her husband, who had ordered
her away from him Immediately after the
boys death, assuring her that he was not
master Of himself, and that she would do
well to keep out Of his sight for some time
10 come. So she took him at his word
and fed down TO the country, to the house
of forget what friend, who undertook to
comfort her in her afIlictiOn. Bracknell
remained in London, and, as / was told,
continued to go to his club every day, to
gamble heavily and TO drink hard.
/ called upon him several times, but he
was always out; and one day when |
CHANGED upon him in the street he told
me roughly that | need not trouble to look
him up again.
kindly meant, I've no doubt, " he said;
"but | should be very much obliged to my
friends il they wouldn't be so-etc., etc
ofliciOus. When | want to be condOled
with I'll let them know"
After that ! could only leave him to
himself. Even If he had been willing TO
listen to me, | should have been puzzled
TO discover any plausible form of consola-
ton; and certainly should not have hit
upon that selected by my mother, who in
the overlooking kindness of her heart
wrote him long letter, in which she re-
minded him that among other blessings
he still possessed his wife. | believe she
was afterward little ashamed of having
taken this bold step and would never
have let me know of it had she been able
TO resist showing me Bracknell's reply,
which was brief and pithy:
"Dear Mrs. Maynard: | told your son
the other day that didn't wish to be con-
doled with, and don't. But must say
that l hardly expected to be congratulated.
Lady Bracknell is not with me just now,
or she would | am sure, desire me to
thank you for speaking Of her as bless
ing. 1t is probably the first time in her
life that she has been called by that name,
and should think it would be the last.
Sincerely yours, BRACKNELL."
My mother shook her head at this.
''He ought not to speak so of his wife,"
she said And when l brought forward
certain excuses on Bracknell's behalf Il
would not shock her by mentioning all
those that might have been mentioned,
nor would she have believed in them If l
had she only shook her head the more,
telling me that had no realizing sense of
the sacredness of marriage.
Whether | deserved that rebuke or not
is of small consequence, but might fairly
have retorted that my dear mother, for
L ~ !.
ferent to the worldly side of that contract,
and that by her present conduct she was
in danger, not only of making two people
more unhappy than there was any &C.
casiOn for but of getting herself into seri-
GUS trouble as well. However, / doubt
whether anything that l could have said
would have prevented her from asking
Lady Mildred to come in to tea every other
day, and then casually getting Jim to
meet her. She had made up her mind
that this couple ought to be married, and
even that it was the will of heaven that
they should be married 1t would have
been too much to expect that the will of
heaven should be set aside to please Lord
Staines or Mr.. Beauchamp, the latter of
whom, as my mother pointed out, might
have proposed long ago, if he had chosen,
but had preferred to go off to Norway and
catch salmon.
And so, during the summer, our house
was made the scene of what, to a common
place person like myself, wore very much
the appearance of clandestine love max
ing.
Lord Staines' suspicious were at length
aroused and he sent for me to pour
them into my ear. 1t was on fine au-
tumn day that, in obedience to his sum-
mons, l walked up to Staincs Court and
was shown into the library :vh2re he now
sat from morning to night, and where, in
spite of the warmth of the weather, fire
was burning. He looked very feeble and
broken, bending forward in his chair and
holding up thin, trembling hand to the
blaze.
Maynard, he said, 81 want you, like
a good fellow, to speak word of warning
to your friend Leigh. | would rather not
speak myself, because, as you know, he
has been caused trouble and disappOint-
mcmt by our family already, and / should
be sorry to seem unfriendly to him. So
will you just tell him as kindly rs you can
that it won't do? | see more than per-
haps you young folks suppose, and Of
course you know what | allude to. 1t
won't do, my dear Maynard. am sorry
for it; but it won't do"
Lord Staincs, | answered boldly, II
am not going to undertake any such COM
mission. | can quite understand your
anxiety to keep the Beauchamp property
in the family, and if you can get the per-
sons principally concerned to do as you
WISH l dare say it will be in some respects
a good thing; but don't choose to be a
NJ To Of tbat Lind Nv
point of view is not the same as yours.
What may become of the BeauChamp
property is nothing to me; whereas it is a
good deal to me that Jim Leigh should
have what he wishes for. | believe that
Lady Mildred and he are attached to each
other and, that being 50, hope they will
stand up for themselves and marry"
| fully expected that this audaciOus
harangue would call forth an explosion of
wrath; but my expectations were not full
filled. Lord Staines only sighed YEARLY
and said God knows | care little enough
for money or lands now! My time is al
most up, and | suppose BraCknell will be
the last of our name Against Leigh
haven't a word to say; only, as | told you
before, it won't do. Mildred must marry
Beauchamp. | am under obligations to
him which can't be discharged in any other
way; and he will be kind husband to her.
We won't argue the point, if you please"
- "He will not be a husband of her chOOS-
ing" | made so bold as to observe, despite
his prohibition.
"YOu don't know what you are talking
about" returned the old man, fretfully.
"The thing must be, and there's no use in
discussing it. If you don't see your way
TO speaking to YOUR friend | must speak